Molly hadn't forgotten the ear-pulling incident from earlier and was determined to get back at Adele, even though she was her beloved. Molly deliberately savored the Mao Xue Wang (a spicy Sichuan dish featuring duck blood and other ingredients) with exaggerated enjoyment, making sure Adele noticed. Adele, on the other hand, stared at the blood cubes in the dish, lost in thought. Why is Molly eating blood? And why is it fully cooked, with such a strange smell?
Seeing how much Molly was enjoying the dish, Adele hesitated. "Molly, is that good?" she asked.
Adele had only ever tasted Molly's blood, never anyone else's. But humans didn't drink blood at all, so if even a non-blood drinker like Molly could eat this with such relish, maybe she could give it a try too?
Molly noticed Adele's growing curiosity and, though she maintained a neutral expression, she was secretly bubbling with mischievous intent. She nodded slightly, as if genuinely appreciating the taste of the blood cubes.
Adele's curiosity only grew stronger, but she kept it to herself. Being the proud noble she was, Adele couldn't just outright ask for a bowl of Mao Xue Wang. Instead, she tugged discreetly at Molly's clothes under the table, signaling her interest.
The dining hall was mostly empty at this time, as it wasn't a common mealtime for the night-shift staff. Thanks to the researchers' optimized schedule, the workers' meal times had been adjusted as well. As Adele's personal maid, Molly wasn't bound by the regular schedule and followed Adele's routine, which is why the kitchen staff had prepared Molly's meal in advance.
Fortunately, with no one around, Molly could afford to play her little trick. She took her time before finally turning to Adele, her face an exaggerated mask of concern. "Would you like to try it, Miss?" she asked.
Adele nodded, a bit embarrassed. "Yes, I would."
Molly, pretending to be resigned, stabbed a piece of blood cube with her fork and brought it to Adele's mouth. Adele, making sure no one was watching, quickly opened her mouth and took the blood cube in.
The next moment, Adele's expression twisted dramatically.
Blood drinkers like vampires could only taste food when it contained blood. While tea without blood was flavorless to vampires, adding blood sugar made it taste like something. The exact taste, though, might not match what humans would expect, as vampires weren't used to the taste of iron from the blood. So Adele was immediately overwhelmed by the spicy sensation of the chili.
Adele, like a startled cat, sprang to her feet, drawing everyone's attention. Without caring about the eyes on her, she grabbed Molly and hurried out of the dining hall.
Molly let herself be dragged along, her gaze lingering longingly on the dish of Mao Xue Wang. Even with her usual stoic expression, others could easily tell: She's missing her Mao Xue Wang.
Not long after they left the dining hall, Adele pulled Molly into a secluded corner and pinned her against the wall, her wide, tear-filled eyes locked onto Molly's. Molly, despite herself, found Adele's current appearance rather adorable.
The chili had really done a number on Adele. Her face was red, her expression full of distress, and her eyes brimming with unshed tears. Earlier, in front of others, she had managed to maintain a semblance of dignity, but now, in this secluded spot, she couldn't hold back any longer. She opened her mouth wide, trying to cool her burning tongue by breathing in the cool air.
Molly couldn't hold back a chuckle. Adele's eyes widened in indignation. "Molly! How can you laugh at me? What do I do now? It's burning!"
She stuck out her tongue, fanning it with her hand in a futile attempt to ease the burning.
What Adele needed was water or something like milk to neutralize the spice, but there was nothing of the sort around.
Molly remembered a scene from a movie she had seen in her previous life, where the female lead had used this situation to get a kiss from the male lead. Of course, Adele wasn't trying to get Molly to kiss her, but Molly could still use the same method to help Adele.
So Molly leaned in and captured Adele's tongue with her own, gently pushing it back into her mouth. The kiss itself wouldn't soothe Adele's pain, but Molly had another plan. She lightly grazed Adele's fangs with her tongue, and soon, a drop of sweet blood flowed out.
Molly was stingy, giving Adele only a tiny taste of blood, but that small amount was so sweet it instantly washed away the burning sensation in Adele's throat. Adele, always a bit mischievous herself, greedily sought more once she had a taste of the sweet nectar.
But Molly wasn't giving in.
After a few more moments of teasing kisses, Molly finally pulled away.
"Still spicy?"
Adele, who still hadn't gotten over her blood intoxication, was adorably honest, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. The redness now was different from the earlier flush caused by the chili. It was more akin to the shy, endearing blush of embarrassment.
"It's not spicy anymore..." Adele answered, her voice sweet and obedient. Molly's smile softened, and she leaned in to kiss the corner of Adele's eye, where unshed tears still glistened from the spice attack.
Seeing Molly lean in for a kiss, Adele, emboldened by the moment, pressed closer to Molly, returning the kiss. But when her fangs lightly scraped Molly's tongue, no blood was drawn—unlike before when a simple touch had been enough to elicit a taste.
Adele realized what was happening. Molly was being stingy, after all!
Recovering from her blood-induced daze, Adele huffed in frustration and stormed off. Molly, left behind, sighed. In the end, I lost out—she hadn't even eaten much of her Mao Xue Wang, had given Adele a taste of her blood, and still, Adele was angry.
Over the next few days, the research team worked tirelessly to produce more counterfeit money, accelerating their progress to further their plans. Adele also began implementing her strategy to distribute the counterfeit currency. She called in a known vampire traitor and conducted a large transaction, paying with the fake bills.
The traitor didn't bother to check the money and left with a big grin, completely unaware that he was holding counterfeit cash. Molly, through the Hunter Association, also put a lot of fake bills into circulation, using high-value bounties to ensure that many non-humans would receive a significant amount of money.
In addition, Adele and Molly employed a unique method. Molly, carrying large boxes, would sneak into the homes of lesser nobles during the day when no one was around and leave the boxes full of money behind. These lesser nobles, often struggling financially, would never dream of returning the money to a bank or looking for its rightful owner. Instead, they would keep quiet, viewing it as a gift from the Lady of the Moon, and look for opportunities to spend it.
Without exception, the plan worked.
Molly once again saw the greed and selfishness of vampires up close. They didn't stop to question the source of the money or whether it might bring them harm; they only cared about keeping what they had gotten their hands on.
At first, they were hesitant to spend the money, but when no one came looking for it, they began to spend it freely. A few months later, Adele discovered that even her own businesses had received some of the counterfeit bills.
While others couldn't distinguish between the real and fake bills, Adele could immediately tell by the ink that these were the same fake bills her research team had produced.
This was good news—it meant that the counterfeit money was truly circulating in the market. Molly quietly continued to distribute vast amounts of counterfeit cash. Soon after, when Adele returned to her family's castle for the Blessing Festival, Molly found a report on the Black family lord's desk.
In summary: the large amount of money of unknown origin had caught the attention of the Thirteen Clans. They had discovered that some of the lesser vampires on their estates had received the bills, which eventually ended up in the hands of the Clan Lords.
These bills weren't voluntarily handed over by the estate owners. Instead, they were reported to the Clan Lords by the vampires sent to investigate. Molly even found the very box of money she had placed in one of the noble's homes, though it now contained significantly less. While the estate owner had spent some of it, it was clear that the investigating vampires had also taken a cut for themselves.
Now, the Black family lord was faced with a dilemma: should he report this to the Elder Council?
He was uncertain about the situation because he hadn't realized the money was counterfeit. No one would suspect such a thing. After all, what possible gain could there be in producing counterfeit money? In Molly's previous life, counterfeiters made fake money to enrich themselves, but Adele and Molly, except for that one time with the traitor, hadn't used the fake money for themselves at all. Instead, they had quietly distributed it elsewhere.
What benefit could there possibly be for Adele and Molly? Outsiders would be hard-pressed to figure it out.
Because they had never encountered counterfeit money before and had no idea how it could benefit those behind it, the Black family lord remained completely unaware.
Molly put down the report and quietly left the Black family lord's room. In truth, it wouldn't matter if the Elder Council found out, because this was all part of a grander plan. Producing counterfeit money did come with costs, but as long as the fake bills were identical to the real ones, who could ever tell them apart? Only Adele's research team knew the truth, and as long as Adele didn't lose her mind and openly declare the bills to be fake, they would remain real.